Elemental CEO Sam Blackman remembered as industrious and uplifting

Close to 1,000 people gathered Sunday to remember Portland tech entrepreneur and civic leader Sam Blackman as an industrious, conscientious executive who left an inspirational legacy for the city.

"It's less about loss and what might have been. Instead, it's what we and our community will do to honor his life," an emotional U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer said during the morning memorial at the Portland Art Museum.

Elemental's technology adapts video for streaming over the internet to a variety of devices, from smartphones and tablets to large-screen TVs. Clients include Comcast, ESPN, the BBC and many others.

Amazon bought Elemental for $296 million in 2015 and changed the Portland company's name to AWS Elemental. But Blackman remained chief executive as the business expanded to more than 400 employees, the vast majority at its new headquarters downtown.

As Elemental grew, Blackman became an increasingly vocal advocate for Portland's schools, for the environment and for diversifying Oregon's tech industry.

"It's now on us to do the work Sam would have done," his younger brother, Amos, said Sunday morning.

Additionally, AWS Elemental is hosting its annual Portland 4K4Charity run Oct. 12 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which supports Rosemary Anderson, an alternative high school for students who are not succeeding in public schools.

Blackman's bike, painted in Elemental's signature hue of green, stood beside the speakers, with his commuting bag resting on it. Propped alongside it was a Frisbee - Blackman was an enthusiastic ultimate disc player.

Slim and athletic, Blackman was among Portland's most visible tech leaders and his death shocked the city's tech community. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest on Aug. 26 during a private event on Sauvie Island and died the next day.

His mother, Susan Blackman, said Sunday that the cause was ventricular fibrillation, an abrupt disorder of the heart's electrical activity.

"This could not have been foreseen or prevented," she said. "No what-ifs apply here."

Friends, colleagues and family spoke of Blackman's goofy sense of humor and infectiously upbeat disposition, as well as his unwavering affection for Portland. They recalled a remarkable work ethic that brought him success in music and track in high school, and in his career.

"He was happy to put in the time," Amos Blackman said. "That's one of the many terrible ironies that Sam, who wasted so little time, got so little of it."

Colleagues said Blackman would write a personal note to each new Elemental employee and find ways to connect one on one with people throughout the company and the city.

"Sam saw us, all of us. He wondered what delightful person was waiting around the corner next," said his longtime assistant, Emily Barrett. "And by seeing us, and showing his clear-eyed values, he changed us for the better."

And as Blackman juggled his responsibilities at work, Barrett said, he fought for every moment with his wife and two sons, both of whom are in elementary school. Committed to Monday morning meetings in Australia, Barrett said, Blackman would scour flight schedules to ensure he could spend a little more time with his family in Portland on Saturday evening.

Blackman's wife, Adriane, a Portland school teacher, said Elemental's success inevitably ate into their time as a family. It was a sacrifice and not an easy one, she said, but it was one they made because they saw an opportunity to build something more than a company.

"You had big ideas. So during those times when I felt like you were overcommitted and I was overburdened and lonely for your presence, I took deep breaths, and I believed the sacrifices were worthwhile because I knew you could lead us all in a better direction," she said, reading aloud from a letter she wrote to her husband after his death.

"Your whole existence was a call to action," she said, "and your death adds an exclamation point."